This must be what having a surgery feels like, Marvin thought as he lay on the worktable. Luyan and Ella's faces hovered over him, while Renee stood somewhere to his right. They were in the turquoise section of the workshop, which was evidently the mech-assessing section. Panels of monitors spiraled to the ceiling, flanked by hovering scanners that looked like giant, cyan glow sticks.
Luyan was running diagnostics today. It would take four hours, and in the meantime, Marvin could do nothing but wait. He had to be fully conscious, too, and couldn't go into a subconscious standby. Thus, he had two equally daunting options: sit in his own thoughts, or socialize.
He chose the former for the first hour. Luyan and Ella came and went, while Renee stayed nearby, scrolling on her tablet. There was a lot to think about, like who he would face for his next duel, how to take advantage of his team's sudden fame without giving himself away, and what to say to Ella. It was petty, but he wanted to be prepared if Immortal Ignition's pilot threw any insults his way. Although, knowing her, she probably didn't have the guts to say anything to his face.
"So Marvin, did you cheat or not last year?"
Marvin turned his head to see Ella walking towards him. Good, he had been expecting this question. He would say—
Suddenly, Ella threw her arms up in exasperation. "Don't move, you idiot! You just set us back an hour!"
Marvin felt his metal cheeks heating up. "I'm sorry—"
"Just kidding."
Marvin stared at her, utterly confused. What was that for? Out of the corner of his periphery, Renee doubled over laughing.
Marvin sighed and said, "Why are you so sure I cheated?"
"I'm just curious," Ella said. "I mean, you're cheating now."
Marvin couldn't form a reply; he had not prepared for such a dumb argument. He'd been murdered and his brain had been stuffed inside his mech, and she was accusing him of cheating?
"I didn't cheat," Marvin said. I was just good, unlike you.
"Do you feel threatened, Ella?" Renee asked through her voice box. Marvin smiled. It was good to have backup.
"I told you, I'm just curious," Ella said. "Why would I feel threatened by a guy who lost to Gammagrade?"
Renee half winced and half giggled. "I feel like you hate Gammagrade more than Marvin."
"Nah, I could never. I don't know Ishaan personally," Ella replied. Before Marvin could sputter indignation, she raised a finger and continued. "I don't hate you, either. I barely know you."
"So you're just an asshole to everyone," Marvin said.
Woah, did I just say that? It felt good. A rare case where he, without thinking, finally stood up for himself.
For whatever reason, Renee broke into a wide grin and she jumped out of her chair. She raised her hands up in a gesture of, I'll leave you guys be, and scurried away.
"Wait, Renee!" Marvin called. No such luck. She disappeared up the stairs.
"Is she okay?" Ella asked.
No, I think you should go check on her. Marvin didn't say it; he had maxed out his comeback capacity for the day.
"Anyways, I'm no more of an asshole than anyone else in this megacity," Ella said. "People have mechs they like and don't like, and they talk shit about the ones they don't like. It's part of the sport."
"They wouldn't talk shit to a pilot's face," Marvin said.
"Which makes them less honest than me," Ella said. "If you can't take it, why'd you work so hard to become famous in the first place?"
"I didn't pilot because I wanted to be famous," Marvin said. He did it because it was what he loved.
"Yes you did. You know why?"
Enlighten me.
"You would never be happy fighting NPCs in a simulator. You want proof that you're getting better, that your hard work is paying off, and fame is proof. Don't tell me I'm wrong."
"You're wrong," Marvin said. He let the awkward silence linger. It was quite satisfying.
Ella replied, "Whatever. All this is to say I care nothing about you, the person. We can still work together with no hard feelings."
But her voice strained as she said that last sentence, convincing Marvin that something had to be done sooner rather than later. As long as Ella had a superiority complex, she would never completely focus on finding the killer. Their stay at Luyan's workshop would go to waste.
It was better to settle things now.
"Why don't we have a duel?" Marvin said. "After the scans are done."
Ella raised her eyebrows. "Is this a joke?"
"You only need my brain, right?" Marvin said. He could injure his mech body all he wanted.
"I guess…" A hint of a smile tugged Ella's lips. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. You can even use your melt-drills."
Ella scoffed. "I don't need them." She jabbed a thumb at the arena behind them. "See you in three hours."
Marvin felt his heart beat a little faster. Hopefully he'd have some peace after this.
-----
Marvin expected Renee to be vehemently opposed to the duel, but her reaction was the complete opposite. She pumped her fists in the air and wrote, Show her what you're made of!
And so, after the diagnostic scans were complete, Marvin removed himself from the worktable and headed into the training arena. Immortal Ignition was already set up opposite him, lights glowing and engines humming.
Luyan was conveniently out running errands, though he had approved of the duel beforehand. Renee watched behind a glass pane in the workshop.
Marvin drew his sabers and waited for Ella to sync. Once he saw Immortal Ignition stretch its limbs, he turned to Renee, who gave him a thumbs up.
Now that he was here, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous. His challenge had been made in the heat of the moment, and the truth was, he had no idea what Ella and Luyan's design were capable of. This was the same Immortal Ignition that had beat The Praetor, sporting its melt-drills and sleek, triangular helmet, very dissimilar to Ella's mech last year. It had been a miracle that Ella had promised not to use the melting technology.
You're overreacting, he thought. You can do this. You're better than her.
"Ready?" Ella shouted through her mech's speakers.
Marvin nodded.
"Renee, count us off," Ella said.
Renee held up her tablet, whose screen displayed a countdown. Three, two, one…
Immortal Ignition rushed forward and Marvin assumed a defensive stance. Ella used the Mak Ti boxing style, meaning these drills were no more than gauntlets. He could use what he'd learned against The Everlancer.
When Immortal Ignition was a few feet from him, it stopped and strafed sideways. Marvin swung instinctively, catching a piece of metal. The drill. The second drill snapped closed, catching his blade, and Immortal Ignition pulled him forward.
Marvin used his rockets to stabilize and thrust his other saber at Immortal Ignition. The opponent backed off and, to Marvin's surprise, launched into the air. Marvin took a few steps back as Immortal Ignition tilted downwards and spiraled towards him. He dove out of the way in the nick of time and rolled onto his feet.
Pure spectacle move, Marvin thought. No way it worked on any pilot with more than a year of training.
Seeing how Immortal Ignition was still regaining its footing, Marvin went on the offensive. Ella defended well, with her Mak Ti background. Marvin eventually let up and allowed Immortal Ignition to dish out some attacks. For the next couple minutes, he dodged and remembered them. A pattern would emerge soon, surely.
Except it didn't. Ella must have taken notes from Sienna Lee, as she constantly switched up her rhythm and never stopped moving. Fearing he would be overwhelmed, Marvin ducked under a swipe of a drill and boosted forwards, going back on the offensive.
-----
Ella parried a sword and performed an uppercut, missing Marvin's jaw slightly. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. Ten minutes at least. Part of her had thought this would be a cakewalk, but her reasonable side accepted that Marvin would put up an okay fight.
Maybe I should've used the melt-drills.
No, that would've been too easy. Plus, she didn't want to accidentally melt Marvin's Core and kill him.
Five more minutes, and she would win this duel. She was beginning to pick up on some of Marvin's habits, sporadic as they were, and was waiting to catch an overhead swing to deliver the final blow.
One minute passed. Then two. The mechs circled each other for longer periods, growing more sluggish, reenergizing their motors and reevaluating their strategies.
The duel hit its thirteenth minute, and Ella got what she was looking for. As she jabbed a drill at Sabersong, the mech spun out of reach and brought its right sword down. Ella's heart skipped a beat as she raised her drills to catch it, but at the last second, she saw where Sabersong's other blade was. Too low.
A bait.
Marvin had made it obvious enough with how slow he suddenly got, but still, he had predicted it. He had guessed Ella would latch onto his most revealing attack and disregard the others. Now she was back to square one.
This isn't fair, Ella thought. Her current mech was not meant to be piloted without its melt-drills. Had she been using last year's mech, or any other prototype, she would have adapted to Marvin's feint and beaten him by now.
Three more minutes, she told herself, rushing forwards.
-----
Marvin wasn't keeping track of the seconds, but somehow he knew when twenty minutes was up. The duel should've been over by now. He caught a glimpse of Renee through the window, who was glancing between her tablet and the arena.
Something's wrong, Marvin thought as he circled his opponent. I feel different.
Was it because this wasn't a real fight? Or was it because he knew he was facing an inferior version of Immortal Ignition that didn't use its melting tech?
Or maybe it was something deeper that he refused to acknowledge.
Ella's actually good.
Sure, he wasn't expecting her to be a complete pushover—she'd gotten fourth place at Mecha Realm after all—but this was a pilot who had an unusual mastery over her fundamentals. There was no doubt she had trained from a young age, just like him.
Marvin hefted his sabers and prepared to attack, though he felt awfully hesitant. Neither of them had even sustained a major injury, just a few scratches and loose bolts. They attacked and defended, pushed each other forward and back, ebbed and flowed like waves lapping against a boulder. An elegant battle, but completely unproductive.
Get your head in the game, Marvin scolded himself. It had been nearly a minute since their weapons clashed. He needed an incentive to take this duel more seriously.
He activated his voice box. "Turn on the melt-drills."
Ella craned her mech's neck. "Does that mean you forfeit?"
"You won't beat me without them," Marvin said.
"All I'm hearing is that you're tired," Ella snapped.
Okay, nevermind. A simple exchange like that could put him in the mood, too. Marvin drew one saber back and charged.
-----
Ella slammed a drill into Sabersong's side and knocked it into the wall. At the same time, the opponent stuck its blade between two of Ella's armor plates, piercing her abdomen.
Usually, she would feel worried. Now, she only thought, Finally.
A few seconds later, after the mechs had distanced themselves, Renee held her tablet up to the viewing window. She had a stopwatch on it displaying thirty minutes. Thirty. At this rate, they would be here the whole day.
Worse yet, the only thing she had learned in these thirty minutes was that Marvin was actually good. He fought more carefully than pilots their age, and he seemed to always think two moves ahead.
Then the realization dawned on her. It was because Marvin was a robot! For all she knew, he was experiencing the battle twice as slow. He probably had some algorithm meshed with his consciousness that dictated everything he needed to do. Plus, Ella was exhausted, and syncing for this long was not good for her brain. Marvin, on the other hand, was completely immune.
Well, if Marvin had that handicap, there was nothing unfair about using her melt-drills. He had requested for them in the first place, and it was the Immortal Ignition he would face in Mecha Realm. No point in holding back.
Ella pointed her left drill at Sabersong. "You wanna forfeit now?"
"Just turn on the melt-drills," Marvin replied.
Ella sighed; baiting him was too easy. "Are you sure?"
Marvin didn't reply, and Ella triggered the melting tech. Orange magma spread from her drills up to her arms and she instantly felt safer.
Marvin thought facing a full-strength Immortal Ignition would send him into some flow state, but he'd never seen this mech in action. Ella would show him just how big of a mistake he'd made.
She didn't give him the courtesy of a first strike. She maxed out every thruster on her back and launched herself at Sabersong. The opponent strafed out of the way. Ella shifted balance onto her right foot, rotated every thruster to the right, and spun with a roundhouse kick. As expected, Sabersong put up its sword to block. It was a move Ella had done before, a move the opponent had defended against just fine. However, this time, Ella activated the melt-tech in her foot. Before it even touched Sabersong's blade, it had reduced half of it to mush. Then her leg phased past the blade, through Sabersong's stomach, and out into open air.
It was over. Ella had won, just like that.
But in that split second, as Sabersong's upper torso hung in the air, a voice in the back of Ella's mind whispered to her.
It's not enough.
She had to make sure Marvin knew he'd lost.
So she swiped her drills twice, splitting Sabersong's upper body into three pieces and allowing its head to plop down in the center of its remains.